London: Egyptian-born businessman Mohammed Al Fayed has sold prestigious London department store Harrods to the investment vehicle of the Qatar royal family in a deal reported to be worth around 1.5 billion pounds ($ 2.3 billion).
A spokesman for Lazard, which advised the Al Fayed family trust, declined to confirm the value of the deal which was reported by Sky News, citing unnamed sources.
"After 25 years as chairman of Harrods, Mohamed Al Fayed has decided to retire and to spend more time with his children and grand-children," Lazard Chairman Ken Costa said on Saturday.
"Qatar Holding was specifically chosen by the Trust as they had both the vision and financial capacity to support the long term successful growth of Harrods."
Al Fayed, who also owns English soccer club Fulham, bought Harrods in 1985 for about 615 million pounds at a time when the group also owned the House of Fraser department store chain, which was later spun off.
A colourful figure, Al Fayed waged a long campaign claiming his son Dodi and Princess Diana, who died together in a Paris car crash in 1997, were murdered in a conspiracy.
Qatar Holding will be the fifth owner of Harrods since its creation in 1840.
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